DESCRIPTION (APPLICATION ABSTRACT): The purpose of this research is to determine the impact of workplace factors on outcomes of patients discharged from acute care nursing units. Two aims are proposed for the research. The first aim seeks to examine the relationships among patient characteristics (unchangeable risk factors); organizational characteristics (unchangeable hospital factors); nursing unit characteristics (changeable workgroup factors) and patient outcomes (safety factors and generic quality outcomes). The second aim will use an innovative approach of computer modeling to simulate the best mix of nursing unit characteristics in light of constant patient and hospital factors to achieve the highest level of patent outcomes. The research is grounded in the quality health outcomes model as proposed by the American Academy of Nursing Expert Panel on Quality. Ten hospitals in the Tucson area have agreed to participate in the research for a total of 35 nursing units, which serve as the unit of analysis for the research. Patient and organizational characteristics will be collected from hospitals for six months to provide two quarters of information for analysis. Unit characteristics will be collected during months 3 and 4 to assure the effect of baseline information on unit data and unit data on patient outcomes. Safety outcomes will be collected from hospital-based records. Quality outcomes (symptom distress, self-care, satisfaction) will be collected from 20 to 25 random patient discharges monthly on each of the 35 nursing units. Analyses will include multiple regression analysis, correlation, and structural equation modeling. Software for computer modeling will be developed during the first year of the project, tested with the data from the first 18 nursing units, and results validated with the data from the second cohort of 17 nursing units. All data will be group analyzed if validation is supported.